America is splintering into an ugly brand of tribalism.
At one time, we were the great “melting pot” of ethnic backgrounds, religions and races.
No more. Instead, we’ve begun to fracture along the fault lines of culture, race and religion.

Xenophobia — the irrational fear of people from other nations or cultures — has become epidemic, especially in rural areas where “outsiders” have long been suspect.
That much was evident in Barrow County recently when the county’s planning board turned down a request for a special use permit for a rural 30-acre yoga retreat.
The board shot down the request not because of any legal, non-conforming use — in fact, the county’s planning staff, the professionals, said it did conform to the county’s land use.
But the board denied the request as it cowered in fear before a room of citizens who opposed the yoga center. That crowd had been ramped up by rumors and innuendo posted to a local social media page which alleged the yoga center might become some kind of terrorist training camp.
One guy even alleged during the hearing that Al-Qaeda had a training compound in nearby Commerce, suggesting that the Barrow yoga center might be some kind of sinister conspiracy as well (death by stretching?).
Well, there is not an Al-Qaeda or ISIS training compound in Commerce, although there is an Islamic center that has existed there peacefully for many, many years. And the proposed yoga center in Barrow isn’t a terrorist training camp — what terrorist goes to a county government for a rezoning variance?
Let’s call what happened in Barrow County for what it really is —ethnic prejudice fueled by an irrational fear.
The names of the owners of the property who requested the yoga center are Lalitha Gowda and Satyanarayana Karnati. If their names had been Smith, or Jones, or Maddox, would they have faced such a backlash? If a “Joe Smith” had requested a variance for a retreat center for wounded veterans, would those upset Barrow citizens have been opposed to it? Would they have spread stupid rumors about a terrorist camp?
If the First Baptist Church of Winder wanted to build a Christian retreat center on that same property, would the ugly comments about it have been said?
We all know the answer: Heck no.
The opposition came because two brown-skinned people with funny-sounding names requested it. To a small group of Barrow Countians, that was too foreign
and exotic to comprehend.
The odd thing is, Barrow County does have local yoga classes. The YMCA is offering “candle light yoga” and “flow yoga” this month. And a private company in Winder, owned by a Barrow native, offers yoga classes of various kinds.
So what’s wrong with that proposed yoga retreat out in the countryside? What kind of harm could a bunch of people meditating and stretching on thin mats possibly do to neighbors or the county?
Barrow County isn’t the only place in the nation where this kind of silly prejudice exists. The irrational fear of “others” got a lot of stoking during the 2016 election. Muslims and Mexicans were the target of a lot of political hate speech and ugly social media memes (a lot of it from Russia we now know) during the election. That fear, unfortunately, has become part and parcel to the national character today. The anti-immigration, anti-refugee voices from the far right created a lot of fear that traditional American values were being undermined by insidious outsiders.
While some of that was about illegal immigrants from Mexico, it took on a broader tone and became anti-immigrant in general. That has played out in Washington with a proposal now to sharply cut the number of refugees and legal immigration allowed into the country.
Even more hatred has been aimed at Muslims, especially refugees from largely Muslim nations like Syria. This hatred has become so ingrained that even elected leaders like Rep. Jody Hice, who represents Barrow County, have called for Muslim Americans to be denied their First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of religion.
I suspect some of the anti yoga sentiment at that Barrow County public hearing was rooted in this anti-Muslim fever. But yoga’s roots aren’t Muslim, they’re Hindu. In
the U.S., yoga has taken on a largely secular tone apart from its Hindu roots. People of all religions here practice yoga as meditation and exercise rather than for its historical religious role. That’s no different than a Jewish family deciding to have a secular Christmas tree.
Americans have traditionally prided themselves on being open and outward looking. We have prided ourselves on being accepting of people with different backgrounds and ethnic histories.
No longer. A significant part of the American population has turned inward and isolationist. The fear of “others” has become pervasive and oppressive, especially in rural areas where a mix of ethnic groups is less common than in urban areas. Out here in the hinterland, people with funny sounding names and brown skin are suspect.
If Barrow wants to succeed as a place for new businesses, it will have to shed itself of this isolationist, tribalism tone. What decent industry wants to locate in a community where people openly express this kind of xenophobic views?
Barrow is better than the ugly memes expressed on social media and the inane comments made at that planning board hearing. It was nothing more than chest-beating tribalism on display.
And anyway, who in their right mind is against yoga?
The county government should take a deep breath, then go back and do the right thing.
Mike Buffington is co-publisher of Mainstreet Newspapers. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.

I would hope someone from Jefferson or Jackson Co would be reaching out to these entrepreneurs to encourage them to look at a site a few miles north. Sounds like a nice addition and a few jobs and bit of tax revenue to go with it. Who knows, give it a few years and could be a Chateau Elan level destination.

Barrow County has always been a majority of ignorant backwards type of county and this Hice character fits right in with the majority. Until the backwater of Gwinnett county finally overtakes the good old boys that run the county nothing will change.

Not ignorant and backward. Just want to be sure of what the honest intent is. Who are you to judge the attitude of others? These are valid questions, and if the applicants are able to sufficiently answer the questions, then let them in. Thank goodness someone is questioning them. What is, or is not, to be afraid of if they want to come in? And the concerned citizen is obviously not you. Obviously you feel superior, righteous, and more intelligent than the rest of us. Pitiful, Joe. You are a doormat.

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